Category: Design

Following a few discussions on social media in the wake of Ludum Dare 43 (enjoy my photo from LD19), I took an opportunity to gather my thoughts on this revered tradition of ours and ask a few important questions: Why do we do this? Why do we do it like this? Should we still be doing this? Believe…

On Tuesday I visited a local middle school to talk about my career in computer science and some of the cool experiences I’ve had as a result. This took the form of five one-hour talks in front of different 8th grade math classes. This got me thinking: why did my school bring in such terrible…

At last, more than a year after adding him to the show, I sit down with John Schiber to ask him some questions relevant to his expertise: being a life-long musician and internationally-signed recording artist. John’s experience producing music with his band, A Dark Orbit, and his personal studies of theory, engineering, and instrumental techniques have…

We Need the Same Decisiveness That Saved Us in the 90s to Protect Indies from Federal Bureaucracy If you’ve followed along with the #GameDev Breakdown Podcast, you’ve heard us discuss loot boxes with some concern for well in excess of a year now. In fact, it was last year’s Christmas episode that I seem to…

It’s time for a mini-show full of things to know! I’ve sort of been bouncing catchphrases like that in my head for the better part of a day, and I’ve determined there are no good ones–but that may be the fever talking. I was in the throes of a full Man Cold for this episode,…

Happy Thanksgiving! In this special holiday episode, we give thanks for tremendous opportunities we’ve had this year, and for so many kind words from the community. In keeping with tradition, we come up with holiday-themed design concepts and follow them as far as we dare down the rabbit hole. What begins as a good-natured creative…

At last! We’ve certainly discussed Pico-8 enough on the podcast to warrant this top-to-bottom look at Pico-8 in general, which includes a walkthrough of my latest Pico-8 project, Letterworks, from design to submission. If you’re an audio show listener, you may want to set aside a few minutes to check this one out on our YouTube page,…

John Schiber returns for Season 2! For once, we’re each playing a new release: John has jumped on his horse and has high praise for Red Dead Redemption 2, I’ve scratched my Call of Duty itch and downloaded Black Ops 4. For the first time in the history of the show, we’ve both played (and enjoyed) a battle…

Unconventional Advice for Your Game Dev Journey In this series, I will pass on odd lessons from over a decade in development that I’m fairly certain you won’t hear anywhere else. Side Note: We do a game dev podcast that might be perfect for your jam weekend. Part 1: Don’t Get Weird with the Food…